This Biodiversity Duty Report documents the policies and actions that Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (Tameside Council) is carrying out to comply with its biodiversity duty.

The government introduced England’s strengthened biodiversity duty under the Environment Act 2021 on 1 January 2023 through amendments to section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. The duty was strengthened to ensure public authorities make the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity a core consideration when delivering their functions. The duty requires all public authorities in England to consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Authorities must determine policies and specific objectives for taking action as soon as practicable and then take that action.

Under the duty, authorities are further required to publish a biodiversity report to communicate what they are doing to improve the environment, to show the positive changes that have been made and review the actions at least every 5 years. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) intends to include references to these reports in future reviews of the Environmental Improvement Plan.

2 Information about Tameside – Geography and Natural Environment

Tameside, established as a borough in 1974, is situated in the east of Greater Manchester. It covers an area of around 40 square miles (103.5 sq.km) with a population of approximately 231,000 (2021 Census). Neighbouring boroughs consist of Oldham to the north, Stockport to the south, Manchester to the west and High Peak in Derbyshire to the east. The Peak District National Park is adjacent to the borough to the north and east. To the east of the borough the urban landscape gives way to the Pennine Foothills

Tameside is a mix of urban and rural landscapes with historic market towns demonstrating close relationships with both the city centre and the foothills of the Pennines, the upland fringes of the South Pennines and open moorland, varying in elevation from 75 to almost 500 metres above sea level.

Alongside its urban areas, Tameside has many green spaces including parks, woodlands, nature reserves, golf courses and other locations designated for nature conservation, with over 52% of Tameside being undeveloped and green in nature (approximately 50% of Tameside is Green Belt). There are three rivers that run through Tameside namely the River Tame, the River Medlock to the north along the boundary with Oldham and the River Etherow to the south along the boundary with Stockport. These river valleys, along with the Peak Forest Canal, Ashton Canal, Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Hollinwood Branch Canal, are defining features of the borough’s character, with strong links to Tameside’s industrial past, with the Hollinwood Branch Canal and Huddersfield Narrow Canal designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Around 15% of Tameside is protected for nature conservation across a variety of designations from local to international level. Protected sites in Tameside include:

11 Local Nature Reserves
57 Sites of Biological Importance (SBI) in 2022, increasing to 60 in 2023.
3 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
1 Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA)

[A map of SBIs designated in Tameside can be found in Appendix 1]

Tameside also contains several Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS) that are designated for their geological or geomorphological importance.

Habitats in Tameside

The borough’s natural environment provides space for many priority species and habitats. Tameside has several areas of ancient woodland and supports a range of habitats from lowland dry acid grassland to upland heath and blanket bog. Two species of Hare are found in the borough and each year Skylarks announce the arrival of spring on the moors of Tameside. Audenshaw Reservoirs are an important site for wintering wildfowl and hold the largest winter gull roost in Greater Manchester. Table 1 below provides a full list of habitats found in Tameside which feature on Natural England’s Priority Habitats Inventory [1].

Table 1: List of Priority Habitats in Tameside

Priority Habitat Type	Area (in hectares)
Upland heathland	968.66
Deciduous woodland	781.95
No main habitat but additional habitats present [2]	53.44
Upland flushes fens and swamps	42.56
Lowland fens	35.57
Blanket bog	28.05
Grass moorland	22.92
Fragmented heath	19.24
Lowland heathland	17.20
Good quality semi-improved grassland	16.25
Lowland meadows	7.29
Traditional orchard	0.84
Ponds	0.01

Species records in Tameside

The Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy (see section on “Other Greater Manchester Strategies below) aims to support and enhance populations of 425 threatened, vulnerable and declining wildlife species in the region, with around 50 highlighted for priority action. Whilst biological records do not necessarily represent how common or scarce a species is, they do provide useful indications. Greater Manchester’s Local Record Centre (GMLRC) records for Tameside (see Appendix 2 ) show the district hosts 84 LNRS species regularly, with over 40 of the birds (chaffinch, teal, swallow, lapwing, swift, house sparrow, shoveler, kestrel, skylark and mistle thrush are most frequent) and several plants (such as devil’s-bit scabious, wood-sorrel, harebell, marsh ragwort, crowberry). Some notable amphibians (toad and great crested newt), mammals (hedgehog, hares and 3 bat species), insects (e.g. common blue, wall, small heath, small copper, bilberry bumblebee) and fish (trout, bullhead & lamprey) are also present, along with one or two fungi/lichen species and possibly reptiles (though no recent records).

Tameside can therefore clearly play a significant role in the success of Greater Manchester’s species recovery. In particular, its upland areas support species selected for priority action like mountain hare, ground-nesting birds (curlew, golden plover dunlin, skylark) and some upland insects. Actions in more urban areas will also benefit some priority species – swift, house martin and hedgehog are often present, whilst black redstart, black poplar and slow-worm have been known. Tameside may not hold the habitat necessary to attract and support all of GM’s threatened species, but opportunities should be investigated to attract and support those species found less regularly in the borough too.

3 Tameside Council functions relevant to the biodiversity duty

Tameside Council provides local government services, including environmental services, in the borough and has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) since 2011. GMCA provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across Greater Manchester, but Tameside Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.

Greenspace, parks and open spaces

The Greenspace team are responsible for managing and maintaining a wide range of green and natural spaces across the Borough. As well as designated nature reserves and wildlife sites under its management, the Council also maintain and manage allotments, trees and around 44 formal parks, gardens and countryside areas, all containing spaces important for biodiversity. In addition to practical conservation work, the team spend time writing and revising Management Plans for sites, submitting funding applications for conservation projects and attending meetings with partners such as Mersey Rivers Trust. This ensures that the Council is working at a wider scale to enhance biodiversity across Tameside.

A list of parks and countryside sites can be found in Appendix 3 and on the Council’s website here: https://www.tameside.gov.uk/librariesandleisure/Countryside. Further information on the work of the Greenspaces team can be found under “Operational Actions” in Section 1 below.

Planning

The Council’s Development Management service is responsible for processing and determining planning applications and providing general advice about Town Planning legislation, procedures and policies/guidance. Through its decisions, the service takes account of national and local planning policies and strategies relating to biodiversity conservation and enhancement.

The Council’s Planning Policy service is responsible for preparing Local planning documents and associated guidance and policy advice. This includes taking account of the need to conserve and enhance biodiversity through the development of planning policy and in identifying and proposing suitable development site allocations (see below).

Trees

The Council’s Arboriculture Team are responsible for providing advice on the management and maintenance of trees, including dealing with applications for works to protected trees (those subject to a Tree Preservation Order - TPO). Tree Preservation Orders are made by the Council, who also maintain a List of Protected Trees. A TPO is made to protect a tree for the public’s enjoyment and makes it an offence to cut down, wilfully damage, harm or destroy a tree without the planning authority’s permission. Whilst TPOs can be made for amenity, historical or aesthetic reasons (for example to conserve the setting of a Conservation Area or listed building), they also ensure that the inherent ecological value of a tree is protected. If permission is granted to remove a tree, local planning authorities also have legal powers to ensure that a replacement tree is planted when required. The Council also manages trees within its ownership.

4 Policies, objectives and actions

Integration of Biodiversity into Tameside Council Policies and Strategies

Planning Policy

Tameside Council has several adopted planning policies and objectives which directly relate to biodiversity and environmental protection, as well as emerging policies set out in the draft Local Plan (Homes, Spaces. Places). The following sections provide a summary of each document and relevant policies.

Existing Adopted Plans and other Development Plan documents

Local Plan

The Tameside Unitary Development Plan (UDP), November 2004 https://www.tameside.gov.uk/udp

The current UDP is saved as a Development Plan Document beyond its expiry date of 27 September 2007, allowing the Council to continue to apply its policies. A new Local Plan is currently being prepared (see below).

Tameside’s UDP biodiversity policies aim to protect and enhance the borough’s natural environment by safeguarding internationally, nationally and locally designated sites, protecting priority habitats and legally protected species, conserving important trees and woodlands, and ensuring development integrates nature conservation into design and long‑term management. The policies require rigorous assessment of proposals affecting Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Sites of Biological Importance (SBI) and Local Nature Reserves (LNR), promote habitat retention and compensatory provision where loss is unavoidable, safeguard waterside habitats through green corridors, and require arboricultural assessments and replacement planting where trees are affected. Overall, they embed biodiversity as a core consideration across all planning decisions to prevent harm, secure mitigation, and encourage habitat enhancement.

Key biodiversity-related policies

1.10 Protecting and Enhancing the Natural Environment – Safeguards biodiversity and landscape character; prioritises protection of key habitats and species.

N1a International Nature Conservation Sites – Strict protection for SACs/SPAs; development only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
N1b National Nature Conservation Sites – Protects SSSIs; development permitted only where impacts are clearly outweighed and mitigated.
N2 Locally Designated Nature Conservation Sites – Protects SBIs and LNRs; requires avoidance of harm or habitat compensation if loss is unavoidable.
N3 Nature Conservation Factors – Requires biodiversity considerations in all development, including habitat creation and long‑term management.
N4 Trees and Woodland – Protects important trees and woodlands; requires replacement planting and promotes new native woodland.
N5 Trees Within Development Sites – Requires retention of significant trees and arboricultural assessments for development proposals.
N6 Protection and Enhancement of Waterside Areas – Ensures developments maintain/enhance green corridors and watercourse ecology.
N7 Protected Species – Prevents harm to legally protected species; requires surveys and mitigation before planning approval.

Supplementary Planning Documents

South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation (SAC) / Special Protection Areas (SPAs) Joint Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning-and-housing/strategic-planning/places-for-everyone/joint-supplementary-planning-documents/south-pennine-moors-spd/adoption/

The South Pennine Moors SAC/SPA Joint SPD, adopted by Tameside Council on 8 May 2025, provides detailed guidance on implementing criterion 7 of Places for Everyone Policy JP‑G5 across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The SPD explains the strict approach to development within 400m of the South Pennine Moors SAC/SPA boundaries, outlining the limited circumstances where development may be acceptable without harming site integrity. It also sets out the assessment requirements for development located within 2.5km of the SPAs, including evaluating potential foraging habitat for qualifying bird species, undertaking species surveys where needed, and providing appropriate avoidance or mitigation measures. Covering the South Pennine Moors SAC, Peak District Moors SPA and South Pennine Moors Phase 2 SPA, the SPD ensures consistent protection of these internationally important moorland habitats and their breeding bird populations.

Holcroft Moss Planning Obligations Joint Supplementary Planning Document

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning-and-housing/strategic-planning/places-for-everyone/joint-supplementary-planning-documents/holcroft-moss-planning-obligations-spd/adoption/

The Holcroft Moss Planning Obligations Joint Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was adopted by Tameside Council on 8 May 2025. The SPD seeks to provide further guidance on how criterion 17 (in particular) of Policy JP-C8 of the Places for Everyone (PfE) Plan will be implemented. Criterion 17 seeks to ensure new development (including sites within Warrington Borough Council’s administrative area) does not have an adverse impact on the protected habitats and species of Holcroft Moss, which is within the Manchester Mosses Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The SPD is applicable to all nine PfE Plan local authority areas (excluding that part of Oldham within the Peak District National Park).

Trees and Landscaping on Development Sites SPD, March 2007

https://www.tameside.gov.uk/planning/ldf/spd/treeslandscape-spd.pdf

This guidance aims to assist developers to prepare and submit high quality and attractive landscape schemes, including emphasising how landscaping, tree planting and ecological requirements are considered as an integral part of the design process on new developments, and not as an afterthought. It also seeks to promote green corridors and conserve and enhance existing habitats and areas of ecological and wildlife value.

Biodiversity and ecological considerations are also required in other adopted SPDs and development briefs for specific sites, in particular:

Haughton Green SPD Haughton-Green-Supplementary-Planning-Document.pdf
Development Brief Land at Lock Keepers Court & Site of Former Droylsden Library, Droylsden Marina Development-Brief-Droylsden-Marina-Final-20241010.pdf
Development brief Land & buildings at Former Denton Centre, Acre Street, Duke Street, Denton Development-Brief-Vacant-Denton-Centre-FINAL.pdf
Development Brief Land & buildings at former Droylsden cemetery maintenance yard, Manor Road, Droylsden FINAL-DB.pdf

Places for Everyone (PfE)

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning-and-housing/strategic-planning/places-for-everyone/

Places for Everyone, which was formally adopted in March 2024, is a long-term plan of nine Greater Manchester districts (Tameside, Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Trafford and Wigan) for jobs, new homes, and sustainable growth.

Elements of the plan that directly relate to biodiversity include the following:

Vision – Sets an ambition for Greater Manchester to lead on climate action, clean air and a flourishing natural environment.
PfE Objective 8 – Seeks to enhance landscapes, improve access to green space, and use green infrastructure to support climate resilience.
Greener Places – Emphasises valuing landscapes, protecting green/blue infrastructure, enhancing biodiversity/geodiversity, and maintaining the Green Belt.
Landscape Character / Policy JP‑G1: Landscape Character – Requires development to reflect local landscape qualities and improve landscape condition while supporting biodiversity and geodiversity enhancement.
Our Green Infrastructure Network – Defines a high‑quality, extensive, integrated and accessible green infrastructure network essential for ecosystem services, climate resilience and wellbeing.
Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) & Nature Recovery Network (NRN) – Establishes a strategic, evidence‑based approach to restoring habitats, identifying priority actions and linking sites across Greater Manchester.
Green Infrastructure Opportunity Areas – Identifies major landscape-scale areas where targeted interventions can deliver significant ecosystem service and nature recovery benefits.
Policy JP‑G2: Green Infrastructure Network – Requires development to protect, manage and enhance green infrastructure, integrate it into design, and provide compensatory improvements where Green Belt land is affected.
River Valleys and Waterways / Policy JP‑G3 – Prioritises protecting and enhancing river corridors as key biodiversity, recreation and climate‑resilience assets, integrating them positively into development.
Lowland Wetlands and Mosslands / Policy JP‑G4 – Protects and restores ecologically valuable wetlands and peat landscapes, expanding bog habitats, improving connectivity and increasing public access.
Uplands / Policy JP‑G5 – Conserves highly sensitive upland habitats, restores blanket bog, manages recreation pressures, and strictly limits development near SAC/SPA boundaries.
Urban Green Space / Policy JP‑G6 – Protects and enhances urban green spaces to support health, nature recovery, climate resilience and high‑quality neighbourhoods.
Trees and Woodland / Policy JP‑G7 – Aims to significantly increase tree cover, protect important woodland, improve connectivity, expand street trees and require replacement planting in new development.
Biodiversity and Geodiversity / Policy JP‑G8 – Mandates a measurable 10% biodiversity net gain, strengthens habitat networks, protects designated sites, supports nature recovery initiatives and safeguards peat soils.
Policy JP‑Strat13: Strategic Green Infrastructure – Protects key strategic assets (river valleys, wetlands, uplands, trees/woodland) as core components of Greater Manchester’s green infrastructure network.

PfE site allocations in Tameside

PfE contains three strategic site allocations in Tameside, all of which were subject to ecological surveys prior to the Plan being adopted. Evidence and recommendations from these surveys were incorporated into the policy requirements for these sites

Policy JP Allocation 27: Ashton Moss West

Policy criteria include making provision for biodiversity, including taking appropriate account of priority species and ecological features in accordance with policy JP-G8 and also making provision for compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining Green Belt in the vicinity of the site in accordance with policy JP-G2.

The justification for this allocation emphasises the importance of protecting, managing and enhancing existing landscape and ecological features alongside other green infrastructure, habitats and assets of biological importance, as part of the comprehensive masterplan of the site.

Policy JP Allocation 28: Godley Green Garden Village

Policy criteria include:

Making provision for biodiversity, including taking account of Werneth Brook and Brookfold Wood SBIs, priority species and ecological features in accordance with policy JPG8;
Mitigating the recreation disturbance impacts on the South Pennine Moors SAC/SPAs with reference to policy JP-G5 (as the Habitats Regulations Assessment for the Plan found that development within 7km of the SAC and SPAs will increase recreation pressures on these wildlife habitat sites); and
Making provision for compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining Green Belt.

Proposals for the site are expected to follow Garden City principles which include the need to ensure development enhances the natural environment, provides a comprehensive green infrastructure network and net biodiversity gains. The justification for the allocation states that it is also important that habitat and ecological features such as SBIs (which include Ancient Woodland), protected trees and woodlands, hedgerows, ponds, watercourses and other green infrastructure, are protected and managed as part of the comprehensive masterplan of the site to maintain and enhance their conservation status and prevent habitat fragmentation.

Policy JP Allocation 29: South of Hyde

Policy criteria include:

Making provision for biodiversity, including taking account of Pole Bank SBI (Ancient Woodland), priority species and ecological features such as protected trees and woodlands, hedgerows, watercourses and other green infrastructure are protected and managed as part of a comprehensive masterplan; and making provision for compensatory improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining Green Belt.

Emerging Local Plan Policies

Tameside Local Plan (Homes, Spaces, Places)

https://www.tameside.gov.uk/homesspacesplaces

Homes, Spaces, Places (HSP) is Tameside Council’s emerging Local Plan, complementing the Places for Everyone strategy. It sets out a long-term vision and planning framework for Tameside up to 2042. After consulting on the Scoping stage in 2024 and “Options and Preferences” in 2025, the Plan is currently subject to further “Preferred Options” consultation (due to end in February 2026) and is expected to be adopted in 2027.

J008794-Homes-Spaces-Places-Preferred-Options-Plan-V1-1.pdf

The Plan has been screened and appropriately assessed as part of the Habitats Regulations Assessment [3], which assesses the potential effect of the Plan on any European protected sites [4]. Throughout its preparation, the Plan has also taken ecology and biodiversity considerations into taken account through the Integrated Assessment, which incorporates Strategic Environmental Assessment.

Specific elements of the current emerging plan that directly relate to biodiversity include the following:

The plan sets out Tameside’s long‑term spatial strategy to 2042, requiring protection of biodiversity, geodiversity, trees and woodland and alignment with mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain.
HSP Strategic Objective – Environment: Ensures new development is energy‑efficient, climate‑resilient and avoids harm to ecologically sensitive locations, pollution and flood risk.
Policy HSP S1: Overall Spatial Strategy: Promotes sustainable growth that safeguards green infrastructure and ecologically sensitive areas, including the South Pennine Moors, and delivers at least 10% biodiversity net gain.
Policy HSP S2E: Audenshaw: Recognises the Ashton Canal corridor as a key asset that enhances biodiversity, supports green and blue infrastructure.
Policy HSP E1: Renewable and Low Carbon Energy: Supports renewable energy schemes provided they protect and enhance the ecological and geological value of their host environments, particularly waterways.
Policy HSP E2: Surface Water and Water Efficiency: Requires developments to manage surface water sustainably using SuDS and natural flood management, achieving significant reductions in run‑off to benefit water quality, biodiversity and flood resilience.
Policy HSP E3: Biodiversity and Geodiversity: Requires development to conserve and enhance biodiversity, avoid harm to designated sites, and follow the mitigation hierarchy with weight given according to the status of protected areas.
Policy HSP PE2: Protection and Enhancement of Open Spaces: Protects and enhances publicly accessible open spaces for recreation, wellbeing, biodiversity and climate resilience.
Policy HSP PE3: Open Space Provision in New Developments: Requires new residential developments to provide high‑quality open space, meeting defined natural greenspace standards and ensuring long‑term maintenance.
Policy HSP PE4: Strategic Recreation and Countryside Access: Enhances the borough‑wide network of recreation routes and natural corridors that support biodiversity, active travel and landscape connectivity.
Policy HSP PE6: Peak District National Park: Restricts development that could harm the landscape, biodiversity or special qualities of the Peak District National Park and requires consultation with the National Park Authority.
Policy HSP PL3: Conservation Areas: Protects and enhances conservation areas while safeguarding natural features such as trees that contribute to biodiversity and climate resilience.
Policy HSP PL8: Design and Amenity: Requires high‑quality design that integrates blue‑green infrastructure, protects biodiversity and includes buffers or watercourse restoration where possible.
Policy HSP PL9: Design of Residential Additions, Alterations and Extensions: Ensures extensions respect natural features and encourages householders to deliver small‑scale biodiversity net gains such as bird boxes or native planting.
Policy HSP PL12: Design and Enhancement of the Waterside: Supports development that enhances the ecological value of waterways and strengthens their role as biodiversity corridors.
Policy HSP PL13: Design of Public Realm and Urban Spaces: Requires public realm schemes to incorporate street trees, SuDS and green infrastructure to enhance biodiversity, climate resilience and placemaking.
Parking Policies – Front Gardens, Driveways and Climate Change: Encourages permeable, nature‑friendly surfacing and planting in front gardens to reduce flood risk, heat impacts and biodiversity loss.

Other Tameside Council and Greater Manchester Plans and Strategies

Think Green Tameside

Tameside Council formally declared a climate emergency in February 2020, committing to become carbon neutral by 2038, aligning with Greater Manchester's goals, and developing a Think Green Tameside strategy with five key areas, including objectives relating to green spaces. As part of this strategy, the Council has undertaken the following actions relating to biodiversity:

Created an Environment and Climate Emergency Working group
Planted 54,402 trees across Tameside’s greenspaces, with 666 trees planted on the highway.

Tameside Council Climate Change and Environment Strategy 2021-2016

This strategy contributes to Greater Manchester’s Five-year Environment Plan (see below) and breaks down the challenge facing Tameside into five main areas, including Greenspace and Biodiversity, with related actions of: Enhancing natural capital and Drawing down carbon through tree planting.

A detailed Greenspace and Biodiversity Action Plan from the Strategy can be found here: J004054-Climate-Strategy-Appendices-GREENSPACES.pdf

Examples of actions within the Strategy include:

Building natural capital into new and existing development to maximise the value that the environment brings across the borough: This includes enhancing and managing green and natural areas through measures such as reduced mowing, tree and sustainable planting, habitat management, and exploring green roofs and walls.
Increasing tree cover across the borough: This includes planting on council land and across schools, estates and industrial sites, supported by a borough‑wide tree strategy and partnership work with City of Trees.
Ensuring that we maintain the greenspaces around Tameside in a way that maximises opportunities for increasing and enhancing biodiversity: This includes actions such as retaining deadwood, creating habitat features, installing bird and insect boxes, promoting wildlife‑friendly gardening, running community events, and expanding wildflower planting.
Encouraging sustainable allotment sites and more growing of produce within the community: Supporting community food‑growing and improving the sustainability of allotment management.
Ensuring that flood risk in Tameside is managed effectively: This includes natural flood management actions such as creating leaky dams and measures to slow water flow from moorland.

Tameside Corporate Plan 2025-2026

This plan sets out ambitions for growth in the borough, highlighting a series of projects related to infrastructure, housing and economic development, alongside enhancing quality of life for residents. Elements of the Corporate Plan that directly relate to biodiversity include Priority 3: Safe, Green and Supportive Communities.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) 5-Year Environment Plan 2025-2030

This Five-Year Environment Plan (2025-2030) creates a framework for all decision makers to take the actions required to progress towards its long-term environmental vision and ensure everyone in Greater Manchester has a healthy, low carbon, nature-rich environment in which to live-well, prosper and grow. As well as highlighting a number of achievements, it sets out a series of aims, objectives and actions relating to environmental improvements in the city-region.

Elements of the GM 5-Year Environment Plan that directly relate to biodiversity include the following:

Aim 4: Our natural environment is enhanced, providing benefits people, economy and nature, including:

Expand and enhance our best spaces for nature
Better connect the best spaces for nature by creating and restoring habitats
Reduce pressures on our water environment Increase the amount of green and blue spaces (parks, countryside, public realm etc) that are better managed for nature
Increase the amount of community-led action and better connection to nature

Final outcomes:

Our land use is resilient, supports nature, biodiversity and provides us with the amenities we need, when we need them
Our water environment is resilient, stable, supports nature and provides us with the amenities we need, when we need them

Targets for 2035 (based on Local Nature Recovery Strategy – see below):

Increase the amount of land designated for nature from 11% to 15%
Bring 50% of our Local Wildlife Sites into active management
Work towards the restoration and creation of 1,800ha of wildlife-rich land
Increase our tree canopy cover from 16.5% to 18.5%
Target the delivery of new wildlife-rich land and tree planting within the Nature Network

Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035

The Strategy aims to create a thriving city region where everyone lives a good life, focusing on an inclusive, sustainable economy and improved well-being. In relation to the environment, the Strategy sets out the city-region’s progress towards Net Zero, the creation of green spaces, and building climate resilience. Specific objectives and targets relating directly to biodiversity include:

Creating a greener future for everyone: We will increase the quality and quantity of local community green space and expand the best spaces for nature to ensure people have access to a nature rich place near to where they live.
We will work with partners to deliver an Integrated Water Management Plan to manage our water resources, reducing the risk of flooding, increasing climate resilience and improving the quality of our lakes and rivers.

Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy

In response to historic and on-going declines in nature, the Government established legally-binding commitments to support nature recovery through the Environment Act 2021. As part of these commitments, 48 Responsible Authorities across England were appointed to lead on preparing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for their area; together these will cover the whole country with no gaps or overlaps.

The Responsible Authority for Greater Manchester is the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and their LNRS (‘Nature for All: A Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Greater Manchester’) was published in September 2025. The Greater Manchester (GM) LNRS, which includes Tameside, sets a long-term vision for a resilient nature network. It sets headline targets, priorities for habitats and species, and guides action over a ten-year period (2025-2035). The LNRS outlines how and where to achieve nature recovery through mapped areas, in the locations where it would make a particular contribution to achieving the Stategy’s priorities.

The measurable LNRS targets for 2035 (most of which are also included in GM’s 5-Year Environment Plan) consist of:

increasing land designated for nature by 5,000 ha;
bringing 50% of designated sites into active management;
creating 1,800ha of new wildlife‑rich habitat, contributing to the national target set out in the Environment Act 2021 [5];
providing at least 3 hectares of accessible green space per 1,000 population;
reducing sewer overflow impacts; and,
expanding tree canopy cover to 17% of the city-region.

The strategy is underpinned by a mapped Nature Network identifying optimal areas for habitat creation and enhancement, composed of Core Local Nature Sites (SSSI, SAC, SPA, SBI)[6] and wider Opportunity Areas that prioritise where nature recovery efforts should be focused.

The LNRS also sets out priorities and practical actions across six key habitat types—urban green spaces, rivers and canals, woodland, wetlands, upland moorland and farmland—and provides mapped “measures” showing where specific habitat improvements (such as woodland creation or wetland restoration) are most beneficial. Opportunity Areas within the Nature Network are also identified as strategically significant for delivering off‑site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), meaning development proposals in these areas should support nature recovery priorities and align with the wider spatial vision of the Strategy.

As a Supporting Authority, Tameside Council was pivotal in the preparation of the LNRS, including being part of the extensive consultation process and participating in Officer Group working parties and individual sessions to input into the key elements of the strategy. Tameside Council formally agreed to the publication of the GM LNRS in June 2025 and it was subsequently agreed for adoption through a meeting of GMCA in August 2025. Now the LNRS has been published, Tameside officers continue to regularly participate in GM Nature Recovery meetings and working groups, providing support and key information to GMCA to inform the implementation and delivery of the LNRS.

LNRS Nature Network in Tameside

As can be seen in Figure 1 below, significant parts of the Borough are included within the Greater Manchester Nature Network, including large parts of the Core Area network (shown in darker green on the map). The Opportunity Area mapping (shown in lighter green) shows that there is extensive potential for linking areas of nature recovery across the Borough and other parts Greater Manchester, joining up with the nature recovery network in neighbouring Derbyshire to the east.

[1] The Priority Habitat Inventory is a spatial dataset that maps priority habitats identified in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and listed as being of principal importance for the purpose of conserving or enhancing biodiversity, under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006). https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/4b6ddab7-6c0f-4407-946e-d6499f19fcde/priority-habitats-inventory-england

[2] “No main habitat but additional habitats present" refers to a site that contains smaller fragments or mosaics of priority habitats, but no single habitat meets the minimum threshold to be classified as the primary, dominant type. The site likely contains valuable, smaller patches of diverse, or ecologically important habitats that require consideration in ecological surveys

[3] Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) of the Impact of the Tameside Local Plan (Preferred Option Stage) on European Protected Sites https://www.tameside.gov.uk/getmedia/fe69cc55-e41c-4f78-9042-5c983d99291d/Habitat-Regulations-Assessment.pdf

[4] European protected sites comprise Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Ramsar sites; HRAs should also consider any potential or candidate sites falling under these categories.

[5] The long-term legally binding national Environment Act habitat target is to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by 31^st December 2042. Further information and Natural England’s detailed definition of “wildlife-rich” habitat can be found here: https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6427187599900672

[6] Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Site of Biological Importance (the latter being a local designation, equivalent to a Local Wildlife Site in other areas)

Map

Figure 1: Extract from GM LNRS Nature Network map

Actions completed

Designating sites for nature

Between 2023 and 2024, seven new SBIs were identified for selection in Tameside, with additional sites due to be recommended for selection in 2025. The new sites mostly comprise of woodland habitat, including the identification of additional areas of Ancient Woodland which had not previously been mapped on the Ancient Woodland Inventory.

Ancient woodland is defined as an area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600AD. It is considered a Priority Habitat and is regarded as an irreplaceable habitat under UK planning policy due to its long, continuous history and high biodiversity value. It is a valuable natural asset important for:

wildlife (which include rare and threatened species)
soils
carbon capture and storage
contributing to the seed bank and genetic diversity
recreation, health and wellbeing
cultural, historical and landscape value

Identifying and designating new wildlife areas and, in particular, irreplaceable habitats such as Ancient Woodland, enables the Council to secure their protection and increase opportunities for potential enhancement.

Securing ecological enhancements through planning applications

Wherever possible, and in line with national and local policy and consultee recommendations from GMEU, the Council seeks to secure ecological enhancements within new development. This is in addition to mandatory BNG and includes planning conditions and obligations requiring a wide range of measures such as:

Installation of bat bricks, swift and other bird boxes, hedgehog highways and invertebrate boxes
Sustainable drainage (SuDS), implementing wetland features for biodiversity and drainage
Species-rich landscaping (encouraging the use of native species wherever possible)

Operational Actions

The Council is committed to managing its own Greenspace in a more sustainable way to enhance biodiversity in the Borough. This work is carried out by the Greenspace Team alongside Greenspace Volunteers. In 2025 Greenspace Officers organised 325 Conservation Days across Greenspace sites and there was 2258 days given by Greenspace Volunteers. They carry out a range of conservation work throughout the year in accordance with management plans for sites. This work can include:

Woodland management such as coppicing
Tree planting takes place across Greenspace sites and along the adopted highway; 2450 trees were planted in 2024/25 with a further 1000 planned for 2025/26
Hedge-laying – particularly at sites such as Werneth Low where a highly skilled volunteer has been hedge-laying for many years and is sharing those skills with others (see Figure 2). Over 500m of hedge was laid between 2023-2025

Hedgerow

Figure 2: Hedge-laying at Werneth Low Country Park

Removal of invasive species such as Himalayan balsam – carried out each year by Volunteers (Figure 3). The positive effect of consistent removal is now being seen at some sites where there has been a significant reduction. However, in other sites, particularly those adjacent to railway lines and rivers, it is very difficult to keep the balsam at bay. At Stalybridge Country Park work has taken place to remove rhododendron from the site, particularly in the more sensitive upland areas of the site (Figure 4)

Balsam

Figure 3: Removal of invasive Himalayan balsam

Rhododendron

Figure 4: Removal of invasive Rhododendron

Carrying out drainage work and keeping ditches clear to reduce damage to land and property from flooding. This is usually carried out in the winter months to avoid wildlife breeding seasons;

With grant funding from the Coronation Living Heritage Fund, planting of 2 x Miyawaki[1] woodlands in West End Park in Ashton and near to Hyde Park to enhance biodiversity in urban greenspace (Figure 5)

The Miyawaki Method is one of the most effective tree planting techniques for creating woodland cover quickly, particularly on degraded land or in urban areas. The method was pioneered by Japanese botanist Dr Akira Miyawaki and aims to reconstruct native woodland with wide ranging benefits for people, wildlife, biosecurity, and ecosystem services It is based on natural reforestation principles, using native trees planted at high densities, resulting in densely packed pioneer woodland that grows much more quickly than other planted forests.

Miyawaki Method

Figure 5: Tree planting using the Miyawaki Method

Meadow management – the Greenspace Officers and Volunteers spend time at the end of each summer cutting and raking meadows, which helps to maintain a biodiverse meadow (Figure 6). This encourages the growth of wildflowers, improves soil health, encourages wildlife and supports all-round meadow health. Re-seeding also takes place on some sites as required and Officers ensure that they choose appropriate seed mixes from reputable suppliers;

Cutting and raking of wildflower meadows

Figure 6: Cutting and raking of wildflower meadows

Pond clearance at Etherow Lodge Park, Hollingworth (Figure 7), helping the water to become more oxygenated; maintaining ponds for wildlife is essential for their continued health and biodiversity.

Pond clearance at Etherow Lodge Park

Figure 7: Pond clearance at Etherow Lodge Park

Other biodiversity projects taking place in Tameside

Projects funded by the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Greenspaces Fund in Tameside

The Green Spaces Fund, launched by Andy Burnham and distributed by the Greater Manchester Environment Trust, was set up to help community groups increase the amount of accessible, nature-rich green space where it is needed most. Since its launch in 2022, the fund has invested over £3 million and enabled more than 100 community groups to develop projects across the city region, including orchards, green alleyways, allotments and community gardens. So far, over 28,000m² of new green space has been created and nearly 400,000m² of existing green space has been improved. Specific projects which have been funded in Tameside are as follows:

Name of project	Location	Funding amount	Project description
Chadwick Dam Cooking Forest Project	Silversprings Primary Academy, Stalybridge	£37,882	Creation of a community food forest, accessible via a new path, transforming underused green space into an edible, educational landscape. The forest will feature fruit trees, berries, herbs, perennial vegetables, mushrooms, and pollinator-friendly plants. Community members will engage in foraging, cooking sessions, and workshops focused on nutritious, seasonal eating. The project promotes biodiversity, food resilience, and outdoor learning. Future phases include a roofed outdoor kitchen supporting year-round activities and stronger connections between people, food, and nature.
St Gabriel’s Community Garden	Ashton-under-Lyne	£15,000	To transform an unused, neglected patch of grass and weeds into a multi-use garden for the community to engage with the natural world. St Gabriel's Community Group aim to increase awareness of biodiversity issues and enhance ecological resilience in the local area.
Community Wellbeing Garden	Tameside	£34,794	To create an accessible community wellbeing garden to encourage local children and adults to connect with nature and improve individual, environmental and community wellbeing.
Reach Community Garden	Stalybridge	£39,993	To regenerate disused land into a sustainable and multifunctional garden, accessible to local people, allowing them to connect with nature and benefit from fresh vegetable-produce. It will also contribute to environmental improvements by boosting local biodiversity and helping to address the climate crisis. Activities to create the garden space will include clearing of brambles, laying pathways, installing raised beds, developing a pond and compost area, planting flowers, trees and vegetable seeds, installing bird and bat boxes and beehives, building a wildlife viewing platform and creating a natural filtration system to capture rainwater.
Together Kitchen Garden	Dukinfield	£7,475	To create an eco-therapy allotment and garden space where children will be able to explore and support their natural environment. A team of volunteers will deliver ‘grow your own fruit and vegetable’ sessions and produce harvested will be placed within a community pantry and distributed as free fresh food parcels.
Vitality Gardens	Hattersley	£37,040	To turn abandoned, overgrown & fly tipped allotment space into a usable growing area and peace garden for local community use. Sustainable living will be encouraged through a range of activities. Other sessions include making bird boxes, insect hotels and ways to support wildlife.

City of Trees

City of Trees works to restore Greater Manchester’s woods and green spaces for the benefit of communities and local nature recovery.

Species Survival Fund in the Medlock Valley

Working alongside a range of partners, including Tameside Council, this project will enhance habitats at seven sites across the Medlock Valley, covering almost 30ha. The project’s core focus is to halt and reverse the decline in species abundance by preserving and restoring vital habitats. The project will deliver several habitat improvements including:

Restoration work across the Ashton canal network;
Grassland and wetland restoration and creation;
Active woodland management;
Invasive Non-Native Species management and control;
Tree and understory planting.

Creation and Repair of Ponds for Great Crested Newts

On behalf of Natural England, the Council acts as a Habitat Delivery Partner for the creation and repair of ponds for the endangered species great crested newt, part of a scheme called ‘district level licensing’. Under this scheme, new ponds are created in strategic priority areas where newt conservation will be most successful, and more than 150 ponds have been created during the reporting period across Greater Manchester, including in Tameside.

Pond restoration in Denton

Figure 8: Pond restoration in Denton

5 Future actions

Tameside Council biodiversity projects

As well as the operational functions that the Council will continue to undertake, over the next 5 years (to 2030) Tameside Council will work on a number of other nature recovery and biodiversity-related projects, including:

Working with GMCA on LNRS delivery and implementation, such as:
Increasing the amount of land protected for nature, including allocating new Sites of Biological Interest (identified by GMEU as part of their annual review process) and/or Local Nature Reserves and taking account of these in Local Plan-making and Development Management decisions (contributing to Target 1 of the LNRS);
Supporting the production and implementation of conservation management plans for designated sites in the Borough, including making use of any LNRS-delivery or other funding sources (LNRS Target 2);
Working on projects and providing data on schemes (including Biodiversity Net Gain) that will increase the amount of wildlife-rich land in the Borough (LNRS Target 3)

Progressing towards adoption of the Tameside Local Plan, informed by the findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, further ecological surveys and consultee responses, which will help to ensure biodiversity is taken into account during the planning process

Reviewing and updating existing strategies which seek to protect and enhance biodiversity (such as the Climate Change and Environment Strategy) and ensuring that wider Council documents, including the Corporate Plan, continue to incorporate biodiversity and nature recovery as key objectives

Hosting the “Think Green Tameside – Climate Action Conference” in February 2026. The event will bring together businesses, community groups, and environmental organisations to explore practical, cost-effective ways to reduce environmental impact and support a greener, more resilient Tameside.

Continuing to attend and contribute to the annual Greater Manchester Green Summit (being held in March 2026).

Continuing to support pond creation and pond repair as part of district-level licensing for great crested newts.

Supporting the development and delivery of Environmental Delivery Plans, in partnership with Natural England.

Progressing major regeneration projects across the Borough, which include biodiversity-related elements, such as:

Greener streets, safer spaces, and better connections planned for Denton: backed by £16.8 million in UK Government funding and support from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the plans include greener streets and civic spaces with climate-resilient planting
Improvements to public spaces in Stalybridge: a series of improvements to make Stalybridge town centre greener, safer, and more welcoming, proposed to be funded by the Government’s Capital Regeneration Projects funds. The proposals include adding greenspaces to Grosvenor Square and transforming the Old Town Hall Gardens into a welcoming green space
£41 million investment through the Government’s Pride in Place Programme, funding projects in Ashton and Hattersley and smaller schemes across the Borough with one of the programmes aims being to create a “Greener, better-connected town and improving parks

6 Biodiversity net gain information

This section of the report contains information on:

the actions carried out to meet BNG obligations
details of BNG resulting, or expected to result, from approved biodiversity gain plans
how Tameside Council plan to meet BNG obligations in the next reporting period

Implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) obligations

Tameside Council, as a Local Planning Authority, is required by the Environment Act 2021 to ensure that all planning applications for proposed development (with the exception of specific exemptions) secure a 10% net gain in biodiversity. This net gain can be achieved on-site through enhancing existing or creating new habitats, off-site through the purchase of biodiversity units from a habitat bank or the purchase of statutory credits from the government; or a combination of these. When deciding how to achieve the 10% net gain, applicants should apply the Biodiversity Gain Hierarchy which prioritises the enhancement of existing on-site habitats before considering allocation of off-site gains and finally purchasing biodiversity credits.

The statutory framework for biodiversity net gain requires a Biodiversity Gain Plan to be submitted and approved by the planning authority to discharge the biodiversity gain condition prior to the commencement of development. To do this, the applicant must submit a Biodiversity Gain Plan supported by a completed metric (showing all pre- and post-development calculations), final habitat plans and details of off-site units or credits that have been purchased. The condition is required to be discharged before work can begin on site

Tameside Council receives ecological advice from GMEU on any relevant planning applications and development plan documents. In relation to BNG, this involves:

providing pre-application advice on ecology and BNG matters;
reviewing and making recommendations on BNG metrics and other BNG-related documents, such as draft biodiversity gain plans and draft Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans (HMMPs) submitted as part of planning applications;
Making recommendations and negotiating with developers on the best outcomes for BNG, such as identifying the most suitable locations and forms of habitat provision;
Reviewing post-permission BNG documents, including final metrics, gain plans and HMMPs and making recommendations on the appropriateness of final proposed BNG schemes and discharges of BNG-related conditions.

Tameside Council has also arranged for GMEU to undertake post-permission BNG monitoring (or “auditing”) of relevant schemes, such as those involving “significant” on-site BNG. This service involves tracking on-going habitat creation/enhancement on relevant sites, requiring regular monitoring reports from habitat managers, site visits, reviewing and making recommendations on submitted reports, providing advice on any necessary mitigation, supporting enforcement action (if necessary), keeping a register of all habitat banks (and unit allocations) in Greater Manchester and providing BNG data.

Monitoring biodiversity gains and the results of this monitoring

The requirement for all non-exempt development to provide BNG has been mandatory for major sites since February 2024 (and for smaller sites from April 2024). It has taken some time for applications validated after the mandatory date to have reached the stage where they have received planning permission and are ready to “discharge” the biodiversity gain condition. Therefore, data on BNG is still very limited, with only one application in Tameside having reached the Biodiversity Gain Plan approval stage over this reporting period. This has resulted in agreement to provide a net gain of 0.08 biodiversity units.

Table 2: Quantitative BNG data: general data Feb 2024-Dec 2025[1]

Consented applications requiring net gains	Number	Proportion
Number of biodiversity gain plans approved	1
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved securing BNG through on-site units only	1	100%
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through off-site units only	0	0%
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through statutory credits only	0	0%
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of on-site and off-site units	0	0%
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of on-site units and statutory credits	0	0%
Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of off-site units and statutory credits	0	0%
Number of approved biodiversity gain plans that impact on irreplaceable habitat	0
Location and number of approved offsite biodiversity units	n/a

Table 3: Quantitative BNG data: overall expected gains and losses across all biodiversity gain plans approved Feb 2024-Dec 2025

Overall expected gains and losses	Area Habitats	Hedge-rows	Water-courses	Total
Total number of pre-development biodiversity units approved on-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.75	0.00	0.00	0.75
Total number of post-development biodiversity units approved on-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.83	0.00	0.00	0.83
Total net unit change in biodiversity units, on-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.08	0.00	0.00	0.08
Average percentage (%) change in biodiversity units, on-site	0.10	0.00	0.00	0.10
Total number of baseline biodiversity units approved off-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total number of post-intervention biodiversity units approved off-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total net unit change in biodiversity units, off-site broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Average percentage (%) change in biodiversity units, off-site	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total number of biodiversity units offset using statutory credits broken down by area/hedgerow/watercourse	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total net unit change in biodiversity units (including any units offset using credits)	0.08	0.00	0.00	0.08
Average percentage (%) change (including statutory credits)	0.10	0.00	0.00	0.10

Meeting future BNG obligations

Tameside Council will continue to meet statutory obligations relating to BNG, including taking into account any changes to the BNG system introduced through national planning reforms -for example changes to minimum site thresholds and exemption categories. The Council will work with GMEU, GMCA and the other GM local authorities to understand and implement these changes, including helping to prepare any new guidance material or practices.

Progress on bringing forward Council-owned BNG habitat banks and supporting the development of a local BNG market

Alongside the other GM authorities, Tameside Council has been working closely with GMCA in bringing forward suitable Council-owned land to be used as BNG habitat banks. The Council has selected a number of potential sites which are currently going through an assessment process. As a Responsible Body[2], GMCA (in conjunction with the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit) are able to support the Council through this process, including providing a full site verification and auditing service.

Once the Responsible Body service has been fully established, and potential sites have been identified and assessed, Tameside Council will be able to register land on Natural England’s biodiversity gain site register. The Council will then be able to sell biodiversity units for off-site BNG schemes. Not only will this contribute to wider nature recovery objectives in establishing new and enhanced habitats, it will also support a local habitat bank market. This will help to encourage developers operating in Tameside to source any new habitat required through BNG within the Borough.

7 Constraints and future pressures

Future constraints which could affect the success of biodiversity conservation efforts

include –

Climate change is likely to make the success of habitat creation and enhancement measures uncertain. To overcome this constraint the resilience of habitats must be enhanced, and habitat management plans must be designed to be adaptable.
There will inevitably be funding pressures for biodiversity conservation measures in the future. To overcome this constraint, a wide range of resources should be sought, without relying on any one source of funding. The establishment of Habitat Banks on Council owned and managed land represents a valuable opportunity for funding habitat creation and enhancement.
The availability of suitably qualified and experienced staff to drive forward and oversee biodiversity conservation efforts is important. Retention of experienced staff members and on-going training of staff and Council members are important mechanisms for ensuring the success of biodiversity conservation efforts.
Land use change and future development could constrain biodiversity conservation efforts if these changes are not properly planned for and managed. The Plan-making process is therefore very important to ensure that the most valuable remaining places for nature are retained and protected, and that nature conservation efforts are prioritised and directed to the best places for habitat creation and enhancement. The LNRS is an essential Strategy for prioritising and planning biodiversity conservation efforts.

8 Monitoring and evaluating actions

Tameside Council will continue to monitor, or support the collection of, biodiversity-

related data, for example:

Biodiversity Net Gain – work with GMEU to monitor data on the amount of new and enhanced habitat secured and delivered in Tameside (in particular recording the amount of new “wildlife-rich habitat” created or enhanced through BNG, to contribute to national targets set out in the Environment Act 2021)
Habitat Banks – monitor progress and uptake of biodiversity units on any future Tameside Council-owned Habitat Banks
LNRS – work with GMEU, the GM Local Record Centre and GMCA on progress towards achieving other targets such as increasing the amount of land designated for nature and increasing the number of sites benefiting from active conservation management.

Appendix 1 – Map of Sites of Biological Importance (SBI) in Tameside

Map

Appendix 2 – List of GM LNRS Species Records in Tameside

(source: Greater Manchester Local Record Centre)

Taxon Group	Scientific Name	Common Name(s)	GM LNRS Priority Action	GMLRC Tameside Records (2000 on)
Amphibian	Triturus cristatus	Great Crested Newt		73
Amphibian	Bufo bufo	Common Toad		48
Bird	Fringilla coelebs	Chaffinch		385
Bird	Anas crecca	Teal		330
Bird	Hirundo rustica	Swallow		296
Bird	Vanellus vanellus	Lapwing	Y	278
Bird	Apus apus	Swift	Y	268
Bird	Passer domesticus	House Sparrow		264
Bird	Actitis hypoleucos	Common Sandpiper		252
Bird	Spatula clypeata	Shoveler		249
Bird	Falco tinnunculus	Kestrel		212
Bird	Alauda arvensis	Skylark	Y	192
Bird	Turdus viscivorus	Mistle Thrush		192
Bird	Calidris alpina	Dunlin		174
Bird	Haematopus ostralegus	Oystercatcher		173
Bird	Gallinago gallinago	Snipe		161
Bird	Motacilla cinerea	Grey Wagtail		158
Bird	Oenanthe oenanthe	Wheatear		153
Bird	Delichon urbicum	House Martin	Y	150
Bird	Sturnus vulgaris	Starling		147
Bird	Charadrius hiaticula	Ringed Plover		139
Bird	Chloris chloris	Greenfinch		135
Bird	Numenius arquata	Curlew	Y	132
Bird	Linaria cannabina	Linnet	Y	123
Bird	Acanthis flammea cabaret	Lesser Redpoll		120
Bird	Aythya ferina	Pochard		104
Bird	Tyto alba	Barn Owl		101
Bird	Caprimulgus europaeus	Nightjar		77
Bird	Scolopax rusticola	Woodcock		68
Bird	Alcedo atthis	Kingfisher		68
Bird	Tringa totanus	Redshank		62
Bird	Locustella naevia	Grasshopper Warbler		46
Bird	Motacilla flava	Yellow Wagtail	Y	45
Bird	Cinclus cinclus	Dipper		42
Bird	Saxicola rubetra	Whinchat		36
Bird	Podiceps nigricollis	Black-necked Grebe	Y	35
Bird	Cuculus canorus	Cuckoo		31
Bird	Tadorna tadorna	Shelduck		29
Bird	Asio flammeus	Short-eared Owl		28
Bird	Spatula querquedula	Garganey		26
Bird	Larus argentatus	Herring Gull		26
Bird	Pluvialis apricaria	Golden Plover	Y	23
Bird	Acrocephalus schoenobaenus	Sedge Warbler		23
Bird	Corvus frugilegus	Rook		23
Bird	Ficedula hypoleuca	Pied Flycatcher		21
Bird	Sterna hirundo	Common Tern		20
Reptile	Anguis fragilis	Slow-worm	Y	1
Reptile	Zootoca vivipara	Common lizard		Likely - moors
Terrestrial mammal	Erinaceus europaeus	Hedgehog	Y	235
Terrestrial mammal	Lepus europaeus	Brown Hare		71
Terrestrial mammal	Lepus timidus	Mountain Hare	Y	11
Terrestrial mammal (bat)	Pipistrellus pygmaeus	Soprano pipistrelle bat		16
Terrestrial mammal (bat)	Nyctalus noctula	Noctule / Nyctalus bat		10
Terrestrial mammal (bat)	Plecotus auritus	Brown long-eared bat		2
Bony fish (Actinopterygii)	Salmo trutta	Brown/Sea Trout		55
Bony fish (Actinopterygii)	Cottus gobio	Bullhead		7
Jawless fish (Agnatha)	Lampetra planeri	Brook Lamprey		13
Insects - Lepidoptera (moth)	Hydraecia petasitis	Butterbur		94
Insects - Lepidoptera (butterfly)	Coenonympha pamphilus	Small Heath	Y	81
Insects - Lepidoptera (butterfly)	Polyommatus icarus	Common Blue	Y	40
Insects - Lepidoptera (butterfly)	Lycaena phlaeas	Small Copper	Y	35
Insects - Hymenoptera (bee)	Bombus monticola	Bilberry bumblebee	Y	5
Insects - Lepidoptera (moth)	Odezia atrata	Chimney Sweeper		5
Insects - Lepidoptera (moth)	Acronicta rumicis	Knot Grass		4
Insects - Hymenoptera (bee)	Bombus jonellus	Heath bumblebee		2
Insects - Lepidoptera (butterfly)	Lasiommata megera	Wall	Y	2
Insects - Lepidoptera (moth)	Lasiocampa quercus	Oak Eggar		2
Insects - Hymenoptera (wasp)	Vespa crabro	European hornet	Y	1
Fungus	Porpolomopsis calyptriformis	Pink Waxcap	Y	2
Lichen	Cladonia portentosa			8
Vascular Plants	Succisa pratensis	Devil's-Bit Scabious		120
Vascular Plants	Oxalis acetosella	Wood-sorrel		103
Vascular Plants	Campanula rotundifolia	Harebell		68
Vascular Plants	Jacobaea aquatica	Marsh Ragwort		44
Vascular Plants	Empetrum nigrum	Hermaphrodite Crowberry		34
Vascular Plants	Hydrocotyle vulgaris	Marsh Pennywort		7
Vascular Plants	Populus nigra	Black poplar	Y	4
Vascular Plants	Hottonia palustris	Water-Violet		3
Vascular Plants	Lathyrus linifolius	Bitter Vetch		3
Vascular Plants	Umbilicus rupestris	Navelwort		3
Vascular Plants	Hydrocharis morsus-ranae	Frogbit		2
Vascular Plants	Knautia arvensis	Field Scabious		2
Vascular Plants	Luronium natans	Floating Water-plantain		2
Vascular Plants	Erica tetralix	Cross-leaved Heath		2

Appendix 3 – List of parks and countryside sites managed by Tameside Council

The following parks and countryside sites are managed by Tameside Council: Parks in Tameside - Tameside MBC

Parks

Ashton-under-Lyne

Cedar Park
King George V Playing Fields
Oxford Park
West End Park
Waterloo Park

Audenshaw

Ryecroft Hall

Denton

Granada Road Playing Fields
Haughton Green Playing Fields
Thornley Park
Victoria Park

Droylsden

Floral Gardens (Cemetery Road)
Sunnybank Park

Dukinfield

Dukinfield Park

Hyde

Hyde Park

Longdendale

Broadbottom Park
Etherow Lodge
Mottram Park

Mossley

Mossley Park

Stalybridge

Cheetham Park
Stamford Park

Countryside Sites

Etherow Valley

Great Wood Local Nature Reserve
Hodge Lane Dye Vats
Hurst Clough
Lymefield and Broad Mills
Woolley Copse

Medlock Valley

Park Bridge
Rocher Vale
Hartshead Pike
Hollinwood Branch Canal LNR
Littlemoss Camp
Knott Hill LNR
Daisy Nook Country Park (with Oldham Council)

Tame Valley

Haughton Dale LNR
Hulmes/Hardy Wood & Lower Haughton Meadows LNR
Portland Basin
Roaches
Silver Springs

Stalybridge Country Park

Lower Brushes

Carrbrook
Duck Island
Cowbury Dale & Cowbury Green
Castle Clough
Longdendale

Werneth Low (also with Hyde War Memorial Trust)

Werneth Low Country Park

Biodiversity duty report

Follow us: